Refrigerating apparatus



May `18, 11943 E. "F, scHwELLER REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed may 25 a sngets-sne`ex 1 m om ATIORNEYS scription, d

panying drawingsfwherein a. preferred form of Y IBrieiiy.` d

. with a storage compartment atthe top and hav- Patented May 18, 1943 t l C tmiFitIcEnA'rrNcrlirrarnfi'rus .o "l Edmund F`. Schwellen', DaytonQOhio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, corporation of Delaware man om@ a Application May z5, 1940, )senai nacemos This. invention relates to refrigerating apparatus and more particularly to household refrigerators.

(ci. sz-193x d ing.. a `removable bottom structure which Vincludes o `a primary freezing evaporator, an` insulating means, a section ofthe bottom `wall of the o The removal of condensed moisture and `spillage i i from refrigerator cabinets has been a vexing problem and various schemes of draining and disposing of this `moisture and spillage 4have been proposed. All of.` these schemes Aappear to be objectionable in some way` and, particularly, many are unsanitary and some-cause undesirable i odors. t

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It is an object of my inventionto provide a l refrigerating apparatus with animproved method and apparatus for theremoval and disposal of the condensedmoisture and'spillagc,` in a;` simple. l convenient,isanitary and odorless manner. i i" i i. It is another object of my invention to provide an improved `multi-temperature or `multihumidity refrigerator with means for collecting and freezing condensed moisture and spillage in t a receptacle in such a way that the frozennmoisturecan be readily removed;

It is another object of, my

` a multi-temperature refrigerator with a freezing evaporator at the bottom'dand a storage" compartment above cooled by an improved secondary o `means. 4

It is still another object of my invention to pro- `vide a multi-temperaturerefrigerator with re' movable means forming thebottom of the cabinet invention to provide i cabinet Aand` the motor-compressor-condenser unit, all assembled together as a unitary removable part of the refrigerator. `A 'secondary refrigerant `circuit is'wound about the -upper storage compartment andis cooled by the primary freezin'g evaporator. electrically-operated vapor lift pump is' used `to circulate liquid in the secondary circuit." The moisture `condensed in -the storage compartment is drained intoa receptacvle` in the` primary" freezing' evaporator compartment `.where it freezes; and thus this frozen moisture may be removed and disposed of while in a frozen condition so' that odors and possibility ofspilling the condensed moisture are f thereby eliminated.L .i

Referring now to the drawings and more par- 1 ticularly to Fig. 1, there isshown a household refrigerator cabinet having a sealed outer *metal* casing` 20. jIn Ethe upper portion of` this outer l metal casing there is provided a, strage ;com

i partment 22 enclosed by a metal inner liner member 2l. Between the sealed outer casing Iand the inner liner member is theinsulation 23. e The metal, inner liner 2l is provided with inwardly and the storagecompartment'and including a o unitary primary refrigerating system;`

It is still another object of my invention to provide -an inner. liner member of a refrigerator cabinet withan improved, simpliiledvshelf supporting means. i t

Further objects and advantagesof the present invention will be apparent from the `following dereference being `had to the accomthe presentinvention is clearly shown.

`In the drawings: Y .i t Fig. 1 is a vertical staggeredsectional view' of a multi-temperature refrigerator cabinet embodying one form` of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary verticaljsectional view l of a refrigerator cabinet showing a vmocliiied l"formof my invention;

, Fig. 3 another fragmentary vertical sectional View of airefrigerator cabinet showing an- Y other modified form of my invention; and

Fig. *lis a fragmentary sectional view taken along the lines of Fig. 3. t f

I have shown a refrigerator cabinet Y facing grooveswhich are formed by bulging out- .wardly the side walls of the inner liner member `3o I5 nated by the `reference character- 26 and are along horizontal lines. These grooves are desig` located atv various levels in order. to support the shelves in any desired spacing and to support at Athe topV ofthe cabinet a pair of vegetablestorage d pans 2B and 30. VA bracket32 provdesla center support for these pans. The grooves 26 provide La Avery simple sliding type support for the shelves A134` and 36 and the shelves may easily be slidably removed and relocated atvariousdistances from the bottom of the compartment so that the spacing of the shelves may be readily adjusted to the size of the articles to'be `stored in the compartment. If `desired one or `both of these shelves may be made of glass so as to pantly'or wholly seal vone part of thecabinet from another. In-

stead of glass or an open shelf a metal partition or an insulating board may be used to sub-divide this compartment. rlhis is readilypossible because the compartment is cooled through the wallsV without any substantial reliance upon `airl circulation from any one' particular point. The cooling of the air in a refrigerator cabinet always causes condensation of moisture from'the air Vwhen there is suicientmoisture inthe air.

v`If` the cooling surfaceisfbelowfreezingthis longer gives olf odors.

moisture freezes upon the cooling surface and must be removed by defrosting. If the cooling surface is above freezing the moisture may be readily drained away. K In this cabinet, it is preferred to cool the Walls of the inner liner member 24 at a temperature above freezing so that the moisture may be drained as it accumulates, otherwise the moisture would onlyv drain away when the cabinet was being defrosted. Heretofore such moisture either from defrosting or from condensation has been collected either in a dish in the storage compartment or in a pan :or reservoir in the machine compartment. When collected in the machinery compartment, the necessary connecting piping and trap would become covered with slime which would cause odors and which would sometimes become dried and be diflicult to clean. Also, evaporation would take place in the machinery compartment and this would cause odors in the room where the refrigerator was kept. Where a dish was used in the storage compartment, it was necessary to frequently remove the contents of the dish to prevent contamination of the air in the compartment by this moisture which often provided undesirable odors.

Therefore, as an important feature of my invention, I have provided a drain aperture 38 in the bottom of the storage compartment which `drains.V directly into a receptacle 40 in the pri- '.mary'refrigerant evaporatorcompartment. This construction eliminates piping which is diflicult to clean and when the moisture drops into the receptacle 40 it freezes very rapidly so that it no The receptacle 40 rests directly upon the bottom of the U-shaped sheet metal primary evaporator 42 which has refrigerated bottom and side walls which extend upwardly into substantial contact with the lower edge of'the inner liner member 24. However, if desired an insulating gasket may keep the upper extension lof the primary evaporator 42 separated from the bottom of the inner liner member 24. The upper edge of the evaporator 42 is provided with a flange 44 which supports a removable shield 46 located beneath the bottom of the inner liner member 24 and spaced therefrom so as to provide substantially a dead air space 48 so as to prevent the bottom of the inner liner member 24 from reaching freezing temperatures.

yThis shield 46 is provided with an aperture 50 which issllghtlyl larger than the aperture 38 and registers directly with the aperture 3B so that moisture will not collect at this point upon theshield 46, but will drop directly from the aperture 38 into the receptacle 40.

' From time to time, this receptacle 40 may be removed with the moisture therein in frozen condition and this frozen moisture after its removal from the refrigerator may beremoved from the receptacle 40 and thrown into'the drain where it can melt and be washed away. However, if

' desired, the frozen condensed moisture need not be removed from the receptacle .but the receptacle itself may be left in the drain so that the moisture will melt directly'out of the receptacle. In such case lanother receptacle should be placed in the refrigerator to catch the drip .while the receptacle 40 is in the drain. If desired, the receptacle 40 may be made of paper or some other disposable material and disposed of with the condensed moisture, and the paper receptacle re-v placed after each usage. With thisY freezing method and arrangement thereis no danger of spilling the contents of the receptacle 40 and the contents of the receptacle 40 may be disposed of at such a place where the odors will not be objectionable. Normally these odors are only objectionable in the presence of certain foods which tend to acquire odors and taste lfrom various sources. r

The primary evaporator 42 is also provided with ice trays 52 and a frosting pan 54 for keeping frozen foods. The storage compartment 22 is cooled by a secondary refrigerant circuit which is lled with a considerable amount of volatile liquid. This secondary circuit extends from an electrically-operated vapor lift pump 56 and includes an upwardly extending tube portion 58 which extends upwardly along the front edge of the cabinet to a looped section 60 upon the top of theinner liner member 24. From this section 60 the secondary tubing includes portions 62 wrapped around the rear and side walls of the inner liner member 24 for -cooling the walls of the inner liner member 24. The portion 62 slopes downwardly and works itself downwardly along the side and rear walls of the inner liner 24 until it reaches the bottom of these walls. From this point the secondary tubing connectsto portions 64 and 66 which are in heat exchange relation with the side walls of the primary evaporator 42. These portions drain into the vapor lift pump 56.

The vapor lift pump 56 includes a float chamber containing a float |04 which is adapted to close the flared mouth of the tube |06 which connects to the condensed portion 66 of the secondary refrigerant tubing. When the float chamber is oat in its position closing the mouth of the tubing 06 until asubstantial, amount of the liquid collected` 'therein has beenvforced to the top 60 of the circuit. For this reason, the float |04 should be made comparatively light in weight.

Preferably some form of volatile liquid is employed in this secondary circuit but if desired any sort of fluid and any sort of pump may be used to obtain the necessary circulation. If desired the pump may be provided with a temperature controlcontrolled by the temperature in the storage compartment 22. The secondary refrigerant circuit tubing may be clamped at various points to the walls of the inner liner member 24 and the primary evaporator 42. If desired some sort of an adhesive may be used for further bond-- ing the secondary circuit tubing to the inner liner member 24.

The primary evaporator 42 is connected structurally by vertical bars 68 with a sealed motorcompressor unit 10. This motor-compressor unit 'I0 is structurally connected by the rods 12 with a fiat finned condenser '|4 located beneath the hsealed motor-compressor unit '|0.` The motorwith a` ,removable `metalflsection, 30 which. is

e :fastened-e by screws82 to "the remaining portion ofthe top'wall of this compartment. Preferably fyasealing gasket is used tomakeV this joint air-` tight These screwsV may be `removed in order 2; torremove the entire primary refrigerating system from the cabinet through the bottom of thecabinet. In so doing anyfastenings between the por- `03` connecting theoutlet side of the compressorv with the inlet portion "of the condenser '|4,`the` l tubing connecting theoutlet of thecondenser with the restrict'or'30 which controlslthe supply V f liquid refrigerant into the Vprimary evaporator and the suction conduits szand .stwhicncon-- neet the outlet of the primary evaporator42`rlwith.

l tnemlet of the' motor-compresscrunit "in, The

restrictor30 feeds the middle ofthe primary evaporator and the refrigerant divides and flows ,through passages tothe sidewalls of the evapora- A, tor. The tubing 88 and thewtubing 94 are in heat exchange relation so as to exchange heat between thecold suction gas and the warm liquid from the i condenser., `A thermostatically controlled switch means 36 may also be included in this assembly and provided with tubing 33 -connected to a i thermostat bulb mounted upon the bottom of the primary evaporator 42-or at some other suitable point thereon. 'This switch means 93 is electrically connected to the motor and the motorcompressor unit '|0. This switch means 36 may rlift pump Stithrough the conductor |02.` i Y, f

In Fig. 2. there is shown a modification in which a slightly different form is provided for the bottom of the foodcompartment and a different form of drain is provided. In this'form the inner liner member |20 enclosing the food compartment 4|22 is provided with a flanged' lower edge |24 which Vis curled upwardly 'to provide a drain trough extending around the bottom of the inner 4 liner member |20. At some suitable point, such as the central portion of the rear wall, as shown, this trough |24 is bent downwardly as designated by the reference character |26 in order to form a spout so that the condensed moisture may drain directly therefrom into the freezing receptacle |28 which rests upon the bottom of the primary evaporator |30like that shown and Vdescribed in Fig. l. The flange |24 isremovably fastened to the upper flange of the primary evaporator |30 l Y by the Vscrews'liiZ. An insulating gasket is provided between these flanges and serves to insulate the primary evaporator |30 from the inner liner member |20 so that the drain trough and con- Y tents will be maintained above freezing temperatures. This gasket 'also serves toseal the inner walls of the cabinet.. The outer Wall of the cabinet |34is preferably hermetically sealed to protect the insulation |36 from'the infiltration of moisture.

The top of the primary evaporator |30` and the l compartment whichit` encloses is closed by a ions :include tubing f i e Y `aaiaisfaa l The; topof the machine, compartment` is provided movable insulating` partition 1| 38 which normally rests uponthe `flange |24 Las shown in Fig: 2. Howevenif desired thisA partition |33 may be moved upwardly to thesupports |40 or |42 in order to increase the size of the dry freezing compartment |30. Suitable gaps in the shelf supports maybe provided in order to allow moisture'to drain into the drip trough provided by the flange |24. A.The walls `ofthe inner liner member |20 are cooled by a secondary refrigerant circuit `means by contact Awith the primary A evap orator |30 and by some suitable form of pump such as was described in connection with Fig. 1.' The freezingevaporator |30 'is provided with ice trays; and a'frosting pan `shownin Fig. 1. i i Y i In Figs. 3 and 4 there is shown a modification somewhat similar to that shown in Fig. 2, but

,.dierent in that the primary-evaporator 230 is providedwith a depression 232 in theV bottom portionithereof located Vbeneath the spout/226 of is provided with an ice removing means or grid e the driptrough and .flange 224( Thisdepression comprisingua" longitudinal-bar or partition 240 provided` with laterally extending ngers or projections 242 and a combined handle and lever 244 which is provided for prying the bar or grid with the frozen `condensed moisture attached thereto tout of the depression so that it may be removedfto a drain and the frozen condensed moisture there be allowed to meltfrom it. Preferably this depression is waxed in order to facilitate the removal of the frozen condensed moisy Otherwise this form is constructed as also have a removable connection to the elec` i trically operated vapo l from a storage compartment at temperatures Y ture. shown and described in Figs. l and `2.

While theformof embodiment of the invention as `herein described, constitutes a preferred form, itis to be understood that` other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

,What is claimed is as follows:

1. The method which comprises removing heat above 32 F. and condensing moisture from the form the condensed moisture to a Vplace of collection, freezing the condensed moisture at the place of collection, removing in frozen condition the frozen condensed moisture from the place of collection and disposing of the frozen condensed moisture. 2. Refrigerating apparatus including a cabinet provided with a freezing compartment and .a storage compartment located above the freezing partment maintainedV at freezing temperatures, and means for draining moisture from said stor- `age compartment into` said receptacle.

3. Refrigerating apparatus including a cabinet provided with a freezing compartment andv a storage compartment located above the `freezing compartment, a receptacle in the freezing compartment maintained at freezing temperatures,

lsaid storage compartment being provided with a trough adjacent 'the bottom of its walls, said trough being provided with discharge means dise charging into said receptacle.

4'. Refrigerating apparatus Aincluding an insulated cabinet provided with an inner liner mem- -ber having top, rear and side Walls, a unitary removable means forming the insulated bottom .wall of said cabinet and a bottom for `said inner liner` member, Q,and .an evaporator below said liner member.

5. `Refrigerating apparatus like -those air in the compartment, transferring in liquid compartment, a receptacle in the freezing com-' v including an insu- I lated cabinet provided with an inner liner member having top, rear and side walls, aunitary removable means forming the bottom of' said cabinet and a bottom for said inner liner member, said removablemeans including a primary 7. Refrigerating apparatus including an insulated cabinet provided with an inner liner member, a primary. refrigerating means adjacent the bottom of the inner liner member, secondary circuit means including a condenser in heat exchange relation with the primary refrigerating` means and an evaporator in contact with the inner liner member, and pumping means for circulating uid through said secondary circuit means. 8. The method which `comprises condensing moisture from the air in a compartment by surfaces employed to cool the air, conveying the condensed moisture away from the cooling surfaces,

collecting and freezing the collected moisture, and thereafter removing the frozen condensed moisture in frozen condition from` the place of y freezing.

9. Refrigerating apparatus including a cabinet having insulated walls adjacent an inner liner member forming a food storage compartment therein, a unitary removablemeans located below said liner member, said removable means including an insulated portion forming a part of the insulated cabinet walls and having a primary refrigerating system associated therewith, said primary refrigerating system comprising an evaporator above the linsulated portion of said means and a refrigerant compressing and liquefying unit therebelow, and a secondary refrigerant circuit means removably connected to the evaporator of said primary refrigerating system for cooling the interior of said food storage compartment.

10. Refrigerating apparatus including a cabinet provided with a food storage zone and a freezing zone beyond the storage zone, means for conveying moisture out of said storage zone and into said freezing zone, means for receiving and freezing the moisture in said freezing zone. and means for`removing the moisture in frozen condition from said freezing zone.V

, 11. Refrigerating apparatus including a cabinet provided with a food storage zone and a .freezing zone beyond the storage zone, means for conveying moisture out of said storage zone and into said freezing zone, means for receiving and freezing the moisture in said freezing zone, and said receiving means being removable from said freezing zoney for removing the moisture therefrom in frozen condition.

12. Refrigerating apparatus including a cabinet provided witha food storage zone and a freezing zone beyond the storage zone, means for conveying moisture out of said storage zone and into said freezing zone, means for receiving and freezing the moisture in said freezing zone, and means for mechanically releasing the frozen moisture from said receiving means to permit removal thereof from said freezing zone.

' EDMUND F. SCHWELLER. 

